Put Bafta in the doc

The Facebook campaign to persuade Bafta to create a category for documentaries grew last week when three British film-makers were nominated for documentaryOscars. Lucy Walker's Waste Land, about "catadores" living in Rio de Janeiro's huge landfill site; Bansky's Exit Through the Gift Shop; and Restrepo, co-directed by British photographer Tim Hetherington among American troops in Afghanistan, revealed the strength in fact-based film -making among our native directors.

"It's madness that three Brits will be fighting it out at the Oscars but not at Bafta," Lucy Walker told me from the Sundance film festival, where she's currently on the World Documentary jury. "It's amazing to be back at Sundance, where Waste Land began its own journey exactly a year ago," she said. "British talent obviously excels in the documentary format, and everyone here from around the world seems to be with us on this one — why can the American academy recognise us but not our own British one?"

Lucy's thrilling and uplifting film, which traces the characters of the favela as they become part of Brazilian artist Vic Muniz's photographic project, does, however, receive a wide theatrical release in the UK next month.

Squeak as you find

I had the pleasure of interviewing architect Sir Norman Foster last week to discuss the documentary about his life and work, How Much Does Your Building Weigh, Mr Foster? We were granted an audience with him on the 38th floor of the Gherkin, where I found him in immaculate blue corduroy suit and navy polo neck, framed against the building's huge glass panes, with London stretched out beneath him. The interview was going well until my producer interrupted to ask Sir Norman to stop swivelling in his chair, which was issuing a loud squeak. "I'm terribly sorry," said Sir Norman, looking somewhat vexed that his perfectly constructed world wasn't functioning properly. He added hastily: "I didn't design the chair."

And the winner is… not me!

Trash predicted all 10 Best Picture nominees last week and was rather proud… until people asked if I'd put my money where my mouth was with a bet? No, but I haven't been able to sleep since, so I rang William Hill, which offers odds on all Oscar matters, to see what I would have won. Their spokesman, Rupert Adams, told me: "We didn't reckon on Toy Story 3 getting in there, so if you'd have come to us with that 10 beforehand, we'd have given you 100-1. Yes, a tenner would have got you a grand." Cripes. They're now offering me a special accumulator for the night itself, for charity. I've got a week to predict winners of the eight categories for which they take bets. The Oscars just got that bit more exciting.